Meriweather: NFL going too far in illegal-hits crackdown

After being fined by the NFL in consecutive weeks this season, Chicago Bears safety Brandon Meriweather said he believes the league has gone too far in its crackdown on illegal hits.

“They teach you growing up that you’ve got to be violent and put the fear of God in people, but when you get to the league that you’ve been dreaming about your whole life, they tell you to change your game 100 percent or get money taken from you," Meriweather told Sports Illustrated in the magazine's Oct. 24 issue.

"I try lowering my target zone, but if you have a receiver who’s 5-8, it’s still going to be a helmet-to-helmet collision. How do you avoid that when you’re running full speed?”

Meriweather was fined $25,000 for a hit on receiver Nate Burleson during the Bears' loss to the Detroit Lions on Oct. 10. A week earlier, Meriweather drew a $20,000 fine for a helmet-to-helmet hit on the Carolina Panthers' Steve Smith.